Brush sizing apparatus



Jan. 13, 1970 F. w. HUDSON ETAL 3,489,463

BRUSH SIZING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 4, 1967 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 MOT- 2INVENTORS FREDERICK W. HUDSON BY PAUL J. KAVENY Jan. 13, 1970 F. w.HUDSON ETAL BRUSH SIZING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 4, 1967Jan. 13, 1970 F. W.HUDSON ET AL BRUSH SIZING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 3Filed Aug. 4, 196'? INVENTORS FREDERICK W. HUDSON BY PAUL J. KAVENYATTORNEY Jan. 13, 1970 F. w. HUDSON ETAL 3,489,463

BRUSH SIZING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 4, 1967 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORSFREDERICK W. HUDSON Y PAUL J. KAVENY Jan. 13, 1970 1 F. w. HUDSON E'TAL,489,

BRUSH S IZ ING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 4. 1967 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORSFREDERICK w. HUDSON L 1 YPAUL J. KAVENY A TTQRWEV Jan. 13, 1970 F. w.HUDSON TAL 3,489,463

BRUSH SIZING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 4, 196'? 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 |-4sov-- k vT MR- I I FEE L 4 T P53 P56 m 5; ITO-3 INVENTORS FREDERICK W. HUDSONBYPAUL. J. KAVENY ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,489,463 BRUSH SIZINGAPPARATUS Frederick W. Hudson, West Henrietta, and Paul J. Kaveny,

Rochester, N .Y., assignors to Xerox Corporation, Rochester, N.Y., acorporation of New York Filed Aug. 4, 1967, Ser. No. 658,459 Int. Cl.A46d 9/00 US. Cl. 30017 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus forsizing the individual hair fibers of a cylindrical cleaning brush toproduce a brush having a smooth, even, outer periphery.

This invention relates to apparatus for sizing a cylindrical brush and,in particular, to apparatus for accurately sizing the hair fibers of acylindrical brush to produce a brush having a symmetrical outerperiphery.

More specifically, this invention relates to apparatus for reproducingan even, smooth peripheral surface on a xerographic cleaning brush. Inthe process of xerography, a plate, comprising a conductive backing uponwhich is placed a hotoconductive insulating material, is chargeduniformly and the photoconductive surface then exposed to a light image.The photoconductive coating becomes conductive under the influence ofthe light image so as to selectively dissipate the electrostatic chargefound thereon/or therein to prdouce a latent image. The latent image isthen developed by means of a variety of pigmented resins which have beenspecifically developed for this purpose. The pigmented resins, or asherein referred to toners, are electrostatically attracted to the latentimage found on the photoconductive surface in proportion to the amountof charge found thereon/ or therein so that areas of small chargeconcentration become areas of low toner density while areas of greatercharge concentration become proportionaly more dense. The developedlatent image can then be transferred to a support material andpermanently affixed thereto.

Transfer of a developed latent image is usually effected by a coronagenerating device which imparts an electrical charge suflicient toattract toner particles from the photoconductive surface to a supportmaterial, the magnitude of the charge required to effect transfer beingdependent upon many variables. It has been found, however, that someresidual developing material will remain behind after transfer iseffected. That is, although the electrostatic transfer forces applied tothe support material will effect transfer of a preponderance of thedeveloped image, some toner particles possessing the higher magnitude offorces than the transfer forces will remain on the photoconductivesurface. A common method of removing this residual toner from axerographic plate is to treat the plate with a cleaning brush after thetransfer operation is completed; the brush fibers being moved rapidlyover the plate surface to produce the desired cleaning. For furtherinformation concerning suitable apparatus for cleaning a photoconductivesurface, reference is had to Turner and Mayo, US. Patent No. 2,751,616.

In the xerographic process, a cylindrically shaped, coremounted, brushis commonly used to clean residual toner from a photoconductive surfacebecause of the obvious advantage afforded by this type of brush. Thebrush is mounted at a predetermined distance from the plate surface sothat the hair fibers are in tangential contiguous contact with the platesurface. Rotating the brush at a relatively high speed causes the hairfibers to flick residual toner from the plate, the flicking actiongenerating a mechanical and triboelectrical force to produce therequired 3,489,463 Patented Jan. 13, 1970 cleaning. It has been foundthat a cylindrical brush must be accurately sized in order to producethe required force needed to remove residual toner. Each individual hairfiber acts as a relatively thin structural member in that the hairfiber, having a relatively uniform cross-sectional area, behaves in apredetermined manner depending upon the fiber length and material. Longhair fibers will be relatively pliable or flexible and the shorter hairfibers becoming stiffer as the slenderness ratio (the ratio of length tocross-sectional area) decreases. A xerographic cleaning brush havingexcessively long hair fibers Will not produce the desired cleaningaction because the hair fibers are slapped or dragged across thephotoconductor surface. Rather than producing the required flickingaction, the long hair fibers produce what is known as a soft ride. Onthe other hand, hair fibers which are too short are too rigid and canproduce forces capable of damaging the photoconductive surface. It hasbeen found that a brush having short rigid hair fibers will cause plateabrasions when rotated at relatively high speeds.

- Itshould be clear from the prior discussion that proper sizing of axerographic cleaning brush is a very important and highly desirous endresult in the xerographic art. That is, for each brush material andfiber denier, there is a critical fiber length which must be maintainedto produce a brush capable of performing the cleaning operation.Oftentimes the tolerances allowed over the outside diameter of such abrush are extremely small, many times smaller than those encountered insimilar art such as the paint roller art or the like.

Although many suitable devices exist for shearing paint rollers and thelike, such devices have been found to be incapable of holding the closetolerances required of a xerographic cleaning brush. For example, acommon brush shear known in the art employs a series of helical bladesmounted on a drum or the like which act in co Operation with astationary blade to shear hair fibers placed therebetween. The hairfibers are held more or less stationary while the movable blade isrotated at high speed thereby producing a lawn mower effect. As can beseen, to accomplish rapid and complete sizing of each individual hairfiber in this type of apparatus would be extremely difficult because thehair fibers are presented to the cutter in a random hit or miss fashion.Increasing the speed of the offset rotary blade in an effort toaccomplish more complete shearing creates vibrations of a magnitude suchthat accurate sizing of the brush hair fibers cannot be accomplished.

It is therefore an object of this invention to improve apparatus forshearing a cylindrical brush.

It is a further object of this invention to provide apparatus foruniformly sizing the hair fibers of a Xerographic cleaning brush.

Another object of this invention is to treat the hair fibers of acylindrical core-mounted pile fabric to produce a brush having asubstantially symmetrical outer periphery.

A still further object of this invention is to provide shearingapparatus for producing a xerographic cleaning brush capable of removingresidual toner from a photoconductive surface without abrading saidphotoconductive surface.

Yet another object of this invention is to rapidly and etficiently shearsubstantially all the individual hair fibers of a xerographic cleaningbrush to a uniform length.

Another object of this invention is to minimize the vibration found in ashearing apparatus so that a cylindrical brush may be accurately sized.

These and other objects of the present invention are attained by rapidlyrotating a cylindrical brush so as to uniformly arrange the hair fibersalong the brush radials.

A plurality of cutting heads, which are capable of treating the hairfibers of the rotating brush, are mounted in a plane perpendicular tothe radially arranged hair fibers. The cutters are advanced into thework a predetermined distance thereby uniformily sizing the hair fibers.The cutting heads are also moved in a lateral direction therebyproducing a smooth, even peripheral surface.

For a better understanding of the present invention as well as otherobjects and further features thereof, reference is had to the followingdetailed description of the invention to be read in connection with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a left-hand perspective view of the shearing apparatus of thepresent invention with the surrounding frame and cover plates removed;

FIG. '2 is a front view of the apparatus with the covers and framebroken away to show the internal structure of the machine;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the present invention as shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view through the cutting heads taken along line4-4 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view in partial section of the cutting head drive mechanismtaken along line 5-5 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view through the hydraulic drive unit taken alonglines 6-6 in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic electrical wiring diagram of the apparatus of thepresent invention.

The apparatus of the presnt invention is particularly adapted forshearing cylindrical xerographic cleaning brushes having synthetic pilefibers, however it should be clear such apparatus is equally adaptablefor shearing cleaning brushes fabricated of natural furs. As disclosedin the previously cited Turner patent, a cylindrical cleaning brush ismounted in an automatic xero aphic machine between truncated members inclose proximity to the photoconductive surface to be cleaned. The brushis mounted so that some interference exists between the photoconductivesurface and the outer extremities of the brush hair fibers. Rapidrotation of the brush causes the hair fibers to be flicked against thep'hotoconductive surface thereby removing residual toner thereon. As canbe seen, it is extremely important that the brush fibers are sized to auniform length so that the desired flicking action is produced and,furthermore, that the outer peripheral surface of the brush besymmetrical about the axial center line so that proper interference ismaintained as the brush rotates through 360.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 6, the apparatus of the presentinvention will be explained in further detail. A brush to be sheared issupported in the present apparatus in the same manner that it would besupported in an automatic xerographic machine. That is, a cylindricalbrush 9 (shown in dotted lines), comprising a hollow core upon which apile fabric is placed, is supported between truncated cone-shapedmembers 11 and 12 (FIG. 1). By mounting the brush in this manner, it ismade to automatically align itself along the identical geometricalcenter line that it will assume in an automatic xerographic machine. Itcan be seen that this center line will lie along an imaginary axispassing through the center of truncated members 11 and 12. Thisimaginary axis is used in the present invention as a reference pointfrom which the length of the hair fibers can be determined.

Brush 9, shown positioned in the loading and unloading station of thepresent apparatus, is supported in a loading frame 13 comprising acylindrical hub 14 upon which is rigidly affixed two U-shaped members15. Bearing hubs 16, located at the outer extremities of the U-shapedmembers, are journaled therein to rotatably support truncated members 11and 12. Running coaxial with, and extending through, hub 14 is a shaft17 which is journaled at each end in support members 18 and 19,respectively. The support members are affixed to the base plate 20 byweld- 4 ing or similar means to provide a permanent base about which theloading frame can be rotated.

The loading frame 13- is free to rotate about shaft 17 so that untreatedbrush 9 being supported in the loading and unloading station, isadvanced into a position where it can be treated by cutting heads '50herein referred to as the work zone. The work zone is the horizontalarea in which the comb-like teeth of cutting heads 50 are capable ofcontacting and guiding the brush hair fibers into shearing relation withsaid cutters. It should be noted that this work zone can vary as thesize of the brushes vary and means are provided, as described below, toaccommodate these brushes in the present invention.

A hydraulic drive unit 25 (FIG. 6) supplies the driving force needed toadvance the loading frame (FIG. 6) from the loading and unloadingstation into the work zone. As shown in FIG. 6, drive unit 25 comprisesa housing 26 in which. a cavity 27 is formed. Drive shaft 28 is centeredin the cavity and fits snugly against the embossed section 29 extendingfrom the main housing. Vane 30 is permanently afiixed to the shaft andruns the entire length of the cavity opening to divide the cavity intotwo separate chambers. Rotation of the loading frame is produced byintroducing hydraulic fluid under pressure from reservoir 31 (FIG. 1)through intake-exhaust port 32 to exert a force against vane 30sufficient to drive shaft 28 in a direction from stop 33 towards stops34. Hydraulic drive shaft 35 extends exterior the housing and hasafiixed thereto a drive sprocket (not shown). The drive sprockettransmits rotational motion to the loading frame by means of sprocket 40acting through chain 41. The position of the loading frame in the workzone, and therefore the location of a brush supported therein, isestablished by means of stops 36 which are positioned to engage embossedsections 39 located at either end of one of the U-shaped members 15. Byproviding only one U-shaped member with embossed sections, the frame isrestricted in its movement to swing through only of arc. As can be seen,the direction of rotation of the loading frame is reversed for eachloading and unloading cycle. That is, a brush advanced into the workzone is returned to an unloading position by reversing the direction ofrotation of loading frame 13. As shown in FIG. 6, blocks 37 and 38 arewelded, or permanently aifixed in a similar manner, to support members18. The blocks are located on the support members in a position so thatstops 36 are capable of engaging the embossed sections of the loadingframe as the frame swings from one position to another. Hardened steelpads 42 are positioned on the embossed sections and are machined so asto contact the stops in a relativey flat position.

Truncated cone-shaped member 12 is biased outwardly from hub 16 by meansof a spring (not shown) located in housing 43. To load a brush in theshearing apparatus of the present invention, the operator movestruncated cone-shaped member 12 back towards hub 16 to enable the corebrush member to he slipped over stationary truncated member 11. Thespring bias member is then allowed to move into contact with the brushuntil it is seated against the core as shown in FIG. 1. With the brushso positioned, the hydraulic drive unit is actuated by the operatorcausing the loading frame to swing towards the work zone. The frame willcontinue to swing until pad 42 encounters stops 36. It should be notedthat although the advancement of the loading frame into the work zone isinterrupted, the hydraulic drive unit continues to deliver rotationalforce to the loading frame thereby positively seating the frame againststops 36. By applying a continual force to the frame in contact with thestops assures positive seating of the frame in the work zone.Furthermore, this positive seating eliminates unwanted vibrations whichwould otherwise be found in this type of support.

A brush being supported in the work zone is rotated at a relatively highspeed in order to force the individual hair fibers in a substantiallyuniform position. That is, the individual hair fibers will be forcedoutwardly along the radials of the brush thereby enabling them to beindividually treated by cutting heads 50. A motor MOT1 located belowbase plate acts through drive pulley 46 and flexible belt to supply thenecessary force to rotate a brush in the work zone. Truncated member 11is affixed to a shaft 48 which is journaled in hub 16. Shaft 48 isextended through the hub and terminates in a clutch plate 49 capable ofcooperating with either the electromagnetic clutch 51 in the work zoneor the electromagnetic brake 58 in the load and unload station. Belt 45drives driven pulley 47 which is keyed to shaft 53 which passes throughbearing housing 54 and is mated to the electromagnetic clutch. As can beseen, rotational force is transmitted to a brush in the work zone whenthe clutch electrically engages clutch plate 49. Shaft 53 is journaledin housing 54 and the housing permanently aflixed to base plate 20 bymeans of support member 55. Also permanently affixed to base plate 20adjacent to drive belt 45 is an adjustable belt tensioning unit 56capable of maintaining the desired frictional driving contact in thebelt. Tensioning unit 56 comprises a base 59 upon which tensioningpulley 60 is adjustably mounted. Pulley 60 is positioned in contact withthe belt so that suflicient tension is introduced in the driving systemto insure a positive friction drive to be maintained throughout.

Positioned adjacent to clutch plate 49 in the loading and unloadingstation is an electromagnetic brake 58 which is mounted on supportmember 19 by means of arm 57. It has been found that a brush whichis,rapidly rotated in the work zone will continue to rotate atrelatively high speeds when returned to the unloading station. It istherefore advantageous to provide means to brake or stop this freelyrotating brush so that the operator may now readily and rapidly unload abrush returned to this station. The brake also serves a second functionin that it will hold truncated member 11 in a non-rotating pos turethereby facilitating the loading of a brush into frame 13. The electriccontrol for both the electromagnetic brake and clutch will be explainedin the operations section below.

Referring now to FIG. 4, brush 9 is shown positioned in the work zonewith the hair fibers in tangential contiguous relation with cutting head50. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of cutting heads are mountedadjacent to each other in a substantially horizontal plane to describe awork zone, the plane described by the cutting heads being parallel tothe axial center line of the truncated cone-shaped members. Each shavinghead comprises a stationary blade 61 and a movable blade 62 capable ofcooperating to shear hair fibers positioned therebetween. Stationaryblade 61 has a plurality of comb-like teeth machined therein capable ofreceiving and directing hair fibers of a rapidly spinning brush into aposition where they can be acted upon by movable blade 62. Movable blade62, which is complementary to the stationary blade, is oscillatedrapidly in a horizontal direction at a speed suflicient to shear hairfibers moving therebetween. It should be noted that the force acting onthe individual hair fibers by the cooperating blade is in a horizontaldirection so as not to disturb the centrifugal forces supporting orholding the individual hair fibers in a radial direction.

As previosuly noted, a xerographic cleaning brush must be sized so thatits outer periphery is uniform. It has been found that an extremelysmooth outer surface can be obtained by placing the cutting bladesslightly below the pre-established geometrical axial center line of thebrush when the brush is supported in a horizontal plane. The centrifugalforces acting upon the hair fibers, due to the rotation of the brush,causes the hair fibers to bend slightly depending upon material andfiber length. Locating the cutting heads somewhat below the horizontalcenter line of the brush compensates for this bending action so that theresultant shearing forces will be substantially erpendicular to the hairfibers. The amount of offset, of course, is dependent upon the degree towhich each individual fiber bends.

To further aid in the positioning of the hair fibers during the shearingoperation, a vacuum hood is placed behind the cutting heads which iscapable of creating suflicient negative pressure to pull the hair fibersradially as they pass through the work zone. As shown in FIG. 4, thehood 120 extends the entire length of the work zone and has suctionparts 125 therein positioned directly behind the movable cutting blade.A vacuum pump (not shown) is provided which acts through flexibleconnector 121 to produce the required negative pressure. A furtherfunction of this vacuum system is to remove clipped hair fibers from thework zone thereby preventing a build lip of residual hair fibers whichcould hamper the shearing operations. The hood is aflfixed to supportcolumn 95 by means of bolts 126 and does not reciprocate with thecutting heads.

Oscillation of the movable blades is produced by a unitized systemdriven by flexible shaft 70. The flexible shaft is directly connected tomotor MOT-3 located beneath stationary base plate 20 in machine frame117 (FIG. 2). The flexible shaft is connected to cam shaft 73 (FIG. 5)by means of collar 72. In the present apparatus, a like, or even number,of cutting heads are located on either side of cam shaft 73 and theseopposed blades oscillated so that they are moving 180 out of phasecreating equal offsetting forces thereby eliminating unwanted machinevibrations. The movable heads on either side of the cam shaft are boltedto a single slide 74 by means of bolts 75 and the slides positioned in aguide member 76. The slides are held in the guide by upper and lowerretaining plates 77 and 78 so that the slide can only move in ahorizontal direction. The retaining plates are permanently aflixed tothe guide member by means of screws 79. The cam shaft is journaled forrotation in bearing plates 80 which are permanently aflixed to guidemember 76, the cam shaft being held in place and properly positioned bymeans of thrust washer 81 and shaft collar 82. Two eccentric cams 83 aremachined on the cam shaft so that the rise and fall of each is 180 outof phase. An arm 84 is connected to the eccentric portion of the camshaft by means of needle hearing 85 and the arm operatively connected tothe slide 74 through drive member 87. Arm 84 is free to pivot aboutdrive member 87 by means of pivot pin 86. It can be seen that rotationof the cam shaft causes the movable blades positioned on either sidethereof to be driven horizontally but in opposition to each other. i

The stationary blades of the shaving heads are positioned in the slotprovided in mounting member 88 and are held in place by means ofmounting bolts 89. The mounting member is then permanently aflixed toguide member 76 so that the stationary heads are held in a permanentrelation in respect to one another. As can be seen in FIG. 4, themovable blade 62, which is supported on bolt 75, is held in closecommunication with stationary blades 61 by means of spring member 90.Spring member 90 rides in a groove (not shown) machined in the back ofmovable member 62 so that the movable blades will be free to oscillatehorizontally in respect to the stationary blade. Sufficient clearance isprovided between spring member 90 and bolt 75 to enable the movableblades to be driven by slide member 74 through the full rise ofeccentric earns 83 (FIG. 5).

Afiixed to either end of guide 76 by means of bolts 93 is a femaledovetailed member 91 (FIG. 4). A male dovetailed member 92 is moted tothe female member 91 and rigidly supported by main support column 95 andthe support column, in turn, welded to a movable table 96. Alsopermanently afiixed to the movable base plate is motor MOT-2 and itsassociated gear box 97 which acts through crank 98 and arm 99 to movebuide member 76, with the cutting heads 50 attached thereto, in ahorizontal direction. A shim 100 is positioned between male and femaledovetailed members to provide a replaceable bearing surface upon whichthey cooperate. It can be seen that a two-part motion is imparted to thecutting heads. First, the movable blades are rapidly moved in ahorizontal direction to shear individual hair fibers and, second, thecutting heads are reciprocate-d back and forth so as to produce asmooth, even peripheral surface on a brush being treated. The throw ofarm 99 is such that each shaving head will be moved laterally therebysuperimposing the work areas of each adjacent cutting head therebyeliminating any blind spots that may be present as well as eliminatingtransition zones between cutting heads where the shearing might beuneven.

The movable table which supports the cutting heads and their associateddriving apparatus, is pivotally mounted upon the stationary base plate20 so that the cutters can be moved into a brush being supported in thework zone. The movable base plate is mounted on stationary base plate 20by means of hinges 104 and is free to rotate about hinge pin 101 (FIG.4). Two hydraulic drive cylinders 103 are pinned to mounting bases 105and the bases, in turn, being permanently affixed to stationary baseplate 20 by means of sdrews 118. The piston rod of the hydraulic drivecylinder 103 is in communication with the movable base plate throughmeans of clevis 106. The degree of rotation of the movable base plate isgoverned by adjustable stops 105 and 106, respectively, similar to thoseemployed in the associated loading frame. In operation, a spring loadedpneumatic cylinder 107 is employed to bias the movable base plate in anon-shearing position. That is, cylinder 107 is spring loaded so thatthe cutters will be moved out of contact with a workpiece when nohydraulic pressure is being delivered to the hydraulic drive cylinders.The spring biased piston acting through contact head 108 exerts a forceon arm 109 producing sufiicient torque to rotate the movable head abouthinges 104. The plate will continue to swing back, or away from thework, until adjustable stops 106 contact retaining blocks 110 mounted onthe stationary base plate. With hydraulic pressure being applied todrive cylinders 103, piston arm 111 extends thereby advancing themovable base plate toward the work. The table, and therefore cuttingheads, continue to advance until stop 105 encouters positioning block113 aflixed to stationary base plate 20.

A pneumatic cylinder 107 (FIG. 4) provides a biasing force against whichdrive cylinders 103 acts in moving the cutting heads into the work.Pneumatic cylinder 107 insures that the table will advance smoothly intothe work by dampening out, or isolating, any erratic movements in thehydraulic system. An adjustable valve (not shown) is placed betwenpneumatic lines 114 and 115. The flow of fluid (air) from one side ofthe pneumatic piston to the other is regulated by setting the adjustablevalve and thus the biasing pressure of the system can be regulated. Thepneumatic cylinder is spring loaded to return the table to a positionwhere the cutting heads are out of contact with the work when hydraulicpressure is removed from cylinders 103. Referring to FIG. 4 piston rod,acting through bearing head 108, forces lever arm 109, which is aflixedto the table, in a downward direction. The table will continue to movedownwardly until stop 106 encounters block 110 positioned on thestationary base plate 20.

The positioning of the cutting heads in reference to a brush supportedin the work zone is determined by the placement of adjustable stop 105.The cylindrical brush is positioned in frame 13 with its axial centerline in a predetermined horizontal position and the cutting heads arelocated in a plane parallel to the axial center line of the brush. Table96 is rotated about hinge pins 101 so that the cutting heads move intothe work uniformly.

That is, the plane in which the cutting heads are positioned remainsparallel to the axial center line of the brush as the cutting heads aremoved into the work. As can be seen, the length to which the hair fibersare sheared, that is, the dimension from the axial center line of thebrush to the outer extremity of the radial supported hair fibers, iscontrolled by the distance the cutting heads are allowed to advance intothe work by stop 105.

MACHINE OPERATION So that a better understanding of the automaticoperations of the present invention may be had, these operations will bedescribed herein with reference to the electronic diagrams shown in FIG.4. Four hundred and eighty volts are first supplied to the circuitthereby energizing the primary side of transformer T-1. Switch 5-1 isthen closed thereby providing a circuit for current to flow through thesecondary side of transformer T-1 which is wound to step down thevoltage to volts. Closing switch S-1 also allows relay 1CR to beenergized causing contacts 1CR-1 and 1CR-2 to be closed. Contact 1CR-2completes a holding circuit around switch S-1 thereby holding relay lCRenergized until such time as the master switch EMS-1 is opened to breakthe circuit. Closing contact 1CR-1 allows power to reach the motorcomponents of the present apparatus.

With contact 1CR-1 held closed by relay lCR, the operator is free tomanually start the motor components in any desired sequence. Referringonce again to FIG. 4, manually depressing palm button PB-1 causescurrent to reach and energize relay lMR. With relay 1MR energized,contact lMR-l is made completing a holding circuit around spring loadedpalm button PB-1 thus allowing the operator to release the button.Energizing 1MR also closes contact lMR-Z in the 480-volt circuit therebypermitting three-phase power to reach the brush drive motor MOT-1.

Similarly, depressing palm buttons PB-Z and PB-3 energizes relays 2MRand 3MR, respectively, completing holding circuits around the palmbuttons through contacts 2MR-1 and 3MR-1. With the above-mentionedrelays energized, contacts 2MR-2 and 3MR-2, respectively, are alsopulled closed thereby starting motors MOT-2 and MOT-3; motor MOT-2providing the energy to cause the slide 74 to reciprocate in a lateraldirection; and motor MOT-3, acting through flexible shaft 70, tooscillate the movable blades 62 found in the cutting heads 50.

As previously noted, a vacuum system is provided to remove sheared hairfibers from the work zone. In order to ready the vacuum system foroperation, palm button PB-4 must first be depressed to causeenergization of relay 4MR. With 4MR energized, a holding circuit aroundpalm button PB-4 is completed by closing contact 4MR-1. It should alsobe noted at this time that the four contacts 1MR-3, 2MR-3, 3MR-3, and4MR-3 in the loading head indexing circuit are also closed by theirrespective relays. However, before the vacuum motor MOT-4 can bestarted, the loading head must first be advanced to an indexing positionas explained below.

The operator now loads a brush into the loading frame at the load andunload station and is ready to advance the head into the work zone.Advancement of the work piece into the work zone is accomplished by theoperator depressing both palm buttons PB-5 and PB6 to provide a path ofcurrent to reach and energize relay 20R. At the time of relayenergization, a holding circuit around palm buttons PB5 and PrB-6 isestablished through the now closed contact 2CR-2 and power is suppliedto the vacuum motor MOT-4, contact 4MR-2 in the motor circuit beingclosed by relay 4MR. The operator is now free to release the two springloaded palm buttons which, in turn, provide a circuit to energize relay3CR. Energizing relay 3CR closes contact 3CR-1.

Assuming, for explanatory purposes, that the shearing apparatus has beenstarted with the switch actuator 122,

locked to shaft 17 (FIG. 1), in physical contact with limit button 123on switch LS-l, it can be seen that a path for current now exists tocause relay 4CR to become energized. Energization of relay 4CR resultsin contact 4CR-1 to close. Current now flows through 3CR-1, normallyclosed time delay contact 1TD-1, and the now closed 4CR-1 to reach andenergize solenoid SOL-1. Solenoid SOL-1 is physically located in theloading head hydraulic drive unit 25 (FIGS. 1-.3) and causes a deliveryvalve therein to direct hydraulic fluid through intake port 32 causingthe loading frame to rotate in a clockwise direction. As previouslyexplained, the loading head will be advanced in a clockwise directionuntil its advancement is interrupted by indexing stops 36. It should benoted at this point that as the loading head begins to swing towards thework zone, contact with limit switch LS-I is broken, and, in fact, nocontact is being made with either limit switch LS-l or LS2. With bothLS-l and LS2 out of the circuit, the electromagnetic brake 58 andelectromagnetic clutch 51 are deenergized thereby allowing the loadinghead to swing freely from one position to another. Upon the completionof the advancement of the brush into the work zone, limit switch LS2 isphysically made by the actuator 122 contacting button 124 (FIG. 1)thereby providing a path for current to reach the timer circuit. A relaybuilt into the timer (not shown) immediately opens normally closed timedelay contact 1TD-1 preventing any change in the delivery valve positionin the loading head hydraulic drive unit so that the frame continues tobe driven against the indexing stops by the hydraulic drive unit.

Closing switch LS2 also allows 120-volt A.C. current to reach thefull-wave bridge rectifier REC1 which, in turn, converts the alternatingcurrent into 90 volts average D.C. current needed to energize themagnetic clutch and brake. As previously explained, energizing themagnetic clutch now couples brush motor MOT-1 to the brush beingsupported in the work zone. At this time the brake located in the loadand unload station is also energized causing truncated cone-shapedmember 11 positioned therein to be locked in a stationary positionproviding the operator with a non-movable surface against which he canwork as well as stopping freely spinning brushes which are returned fromthe work zone.

Closing of limit switch LS2 also energizes solenoid SOL3 causing movabletable 96 actuating cylinders 103 (FIG. 3) to extend, thus moving thework table, with the cutting heads aflixed thereto, into the work. Thetable continues to move forward under the action of the cylinders untilarrested by blocks 113 (FIG. 4). The circuitry will remain positioned asherein described until the timer times out. That is to say, theoscillating cutting heads are now located at a predetermined distancefrom the axial center line of the rapidly rotating brush and are in aposition to shear the hair fibers to a uniform size. Also at this time,the cutting heads are being reciprocated in a lateral direction so thatthe areas being sheared by each cutting head overlap the adjacent areasto produce a smooth, even outer periphery.

It should be noted that shearing times will vary as the diameter andfabric materials vary and, therefore, it has been found advantageous toprovide the apparatus of the present invention with an adjustable timer.Timers of this nature are marketed under the tradename Cycleflex by theEagle Timer Company.

Upon termination of the time cycle, a relay in the timer circuit causescontact 1TD-2 to close and contact 1TD-3 to open. Opening contact 1TD-3results in the electromagnetic brake and clutch to be deenergized aswell as deenergizing solenoid SOL3. With solenoid SOL3 deenergized,spring loaded piston 107 (FIG. 4) is now able to force the table backagainst stop block 110 thus moving the cutters out of contact with thework.

At this ime, swich LS2 is closed allowing relay 5CR to pull contactSCR-l to a closed position providing a path through 3CR-1 and the nowclosed contact 1TD2 to energize solenoid SOL-2. Solenoid SOL-2repositions previously referred to delivery valve in the loading headhydraulic drive unit so that the head swings back in a counterclockwisedirection until once again indexing stops 36, mounted in embossedsections 38, interrupt the rotational movement of the head. It should benoted that as the head is rotating between stations, both limit switchesLS-l and LS2 are opened, deenergizing he brake and clutch to permit freeentry into the new position. A new or untreated brush is advanced to thework zone while a sheared or treated brush returns to the unloadingposition. With limit switches LSI and LS2 open, the timer is also takenout of the circuit so that it will be able to reset itself preparatoryto repeating the above-described indexing cycle. The automatic indexingoperation will continue until such time as either switch EMS-1 is openedcausing cessation of all machine operation or one of motor controllingrelays is taken off the line.

While the invention has been described with reference to the structuredisclosed herein, it is not confined to the details set forth, and thisapplication is intended to cover such modificaions or changes as maycome within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for sizing the individual hair fibers of a cylindricalbrush including a frame,

support means for rotatably supporting a cylindrical brush in saidframe,

drive means for rotating the brush about the axis center line thereof ata speed sufiicient to suspend the individual brush fibers in a radialdirection, 7 a plurality of cutter heads having blades therein, thecutters being-movably mounted in said frame and being positionedadjacent to each other in a plane parallel to the exial centerline ofthe brush,

means to move the cutters uniformly into contiguous tangential relationwith the brush fibers,

slide means to drive the individual cutter blades substantiallyperpendicular to the direction of rotation of said brush at a speedsuflicient to shear fibers presented thereto,

reciprocating means to move the cutter heads transversely along thebrush surface wherein each cutter treats a surface of the brushpreviously treated by the adjacent cutter. 2. The apparatus of claim 1wherein a vacuum drawmg means is positioned adjacent to the cutters onthe side of the cutters away from said brush to further support thebrush fibers presented to said blades.

3. Apparatus for accurately sizing the individual hair fibers of acylindrical brush to produce a brush having a smooth symmetrical outerperiphery thereon including a stationary base plate,

support means for rotatably supporting a cylindrical brush in said baseplate,

drive means for rotating the brush about the axial centerline thereof ata speed sufiicient to suspend the individual brush fibers in a radialdirection, a movable table hinged for rotation on said base plate, aplurality of cutting heads having clipper blades therein, the headsmounted on said movable table and being positioned adjacent to eachother in a plane substantially parallel to the axial centerline of abrush supported in said stationary base plate,

means to move said table about the hinge whereby the cutters are movedinto contiguous and tangential relation with the brush fibers whereinthe brush fibers are clipped by said blades,

reciprocating means to move the plurality of heads transversely alongthhe brush surface wherein each head treats a surface of a brushpreviously treated by an adjacent head.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein a vacuum draw- 11 -12 ing means ispositioned adjacent the cutters and ar- 1,389,302 8/1921 Hagstrom 30017ranged to further support the brush fibers presented to 2,003,269 5/1935Arter 51-53 X said cutters. 2,773,333 12/1956 Johansson 51-53 5. Theapparatus of claim 4 having further means to 3,233,943 2/1966 Peterson300-17 control the distance through which said movable table 2,929,1403/1960 Wilson 30133 is rotated wherein a brush having hair fibers of aprc- 5 3,432,973 3/1969 Heinrich 51215 determined length are producedtherein.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 US. Cl. X.R. Re. 16,20411/1925 Ramstetter S153 5153; 83100, 215

WAYNE A. MORSE, JR., Primary Examiner

